Phonograph record holder



July 9, 1968 M. MAKAR 3,391,792

PHONOGRAPH RECORD HOLDER Filed NOV. 29, 1965 INVZNTOR MARKO MAKAR United States Patent Ofice 3,391,792 Patented July 9, 1968 3,391,792 PHONOGRAPH RECORD HOLDER Marko Makar, 1160 HaI'WOOd St., Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Filed Nov. 29, 1965, Ser. No. 510,175 3 Claims. (Cl. 211-40) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A holder for disc-type phonograph records having a plurality of record containers mounted in sideby-side relationship for a limited pivotal movement about a common horizontal axis between a retracted position and a position tilted forwardly therefrom and having a weight located on each container so that the latter will gravitate to its retracted position when loaded and to its tilted position when empty.

This invention relates to holders for holding disc-type phonograph records.

The primary object of this invention is to provide a holder of the above nature in which records may be easily removed and replaced, and which automatically stacks the records in a neat condition.

Another object of this invention is to provide a holder of the above nature which will protect and preserve the records without danger of breaking or scratching.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a holder of the above nature which is relatively cheap to manufacture, yet is of sufiiciently strong rugged construction that continuous operation thereof will have little or no effect on either its appearance or its operational characteristics.

In accordance with the objects above, there is provided a record holder comprising a supporting frame, a series of elongated record containers arranged in side by side relationship in the frame, means on the frame for pivotally mounting each of the containers for limited independent fore and aft rocking movement about a horizontal axis between a retracted position and a position tilted forwardly therefrom, said means being located so that the pivotal axis of each holder lies forwardlyrof and below the combined centre of gravity of each container and record when the container is loaded and rearwardly of and below the centre of gravity of each container when the latter is empty, whereby each container will gravitate to its retracted position when loaded and to its tilted position when empty.

In the drawings which illustrate the invention,

FIGURE 1 is an isometric view of the holder,

FIGURE 2 is a view of the holder taken along line line 2 2, one of the holders being shown in solid lines in its retracted position and in dotted lines in its tilted position, and

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged fragmentry view of a portion of the holder taken along line 33 of FIGURE 2.

Referring to the drawings, the holder generally accorded the numeral comprises a supporting frame 11 in which are mounted a plurality of individually rockable record holding containers 12 which are pivotally movable between a retracted position and a position tilted forwardly therefrom, as shown in FIGURES 1 and 2.

The frame 11 may be formed of any suitable rigid construction material, such as wood, metal or plastic, and comprises a flat base 13 secured at either side of which are a pair of spaced vertical side walls 14 and secured between the side walls and to the base a rear wall 15. A low front wall 16 extends between the side walls 14 at the front of the frame and is also connected to the base. The walls and base may, of course, if the material is to be wood, be nailed or glued together or may be formed as an ilntegral unit if the frame is to be made of plastic or stee The containers 12 are of light construction being made, preferably, of a plastic or sheet metal, each having a pair of spaced parallel side walls 18, relatively narrow rear and front walls 19 and 20, and a bottom wall 22 to form a narrow elongated pocket, the dimensions of which are such that each of the containers may slidably yet snugly receive a lower portion of the standard cardboard envelope 24 within which most records herein accorded the numeral 25, are enclosed. The front Wall of each of the containers is deeper than the rear wall, and the bottom 22 is extended rearwardly from the bottom of the front wall to a point short of the transverse centre line herein accorded the numeral 26 of the container so as to form a depression or secondary pocket 27 into which a weight 28, such as a length of steel or lead, is inserted, the rear end of the depression being provided with a spacing block 30 which extends between and is connected to each of the side walls 18.

The containers are mounted side by side in a vertical position on a transversely extending rod 32 which extends horizontally and spaced above the base element 13 between the side walls 14 of the frame, the ends of the rod being secured to the last-mentioned side walls by any suitable means. The rod extends through :a bore formed transversely through the side walls 18 and block 30 of each of the containers, the bores being sufficiently large in diameter so as to permit free rocking movement of the containers, each of the latter being spaced slightly apart by the provision of washers 33.

It will be appreciated that when fully loaded, the total weight of the containers may be suflicient to cause the rod to bend. The rod is therefore supported at intervals, e.g. at every tenth container, on the ends of upwardly extending legs 36 of U-shaped braces 37, the bases 38 of the braces being secured to the base 13 of the frame 11, one of these braces being illustrated in FIGURES 2 and 3.

In order to limit the rocking motion of the containers, there is secured to the base 13 of the holder on either side of the rod 32, a pair of transversely extending stop members '39 and 40 respectively. The transverse stop member 40 is situated so as to engage the after portion of the bottom 22 of each of the containers when the container is positioned in a substantially horizontal position, as shown in solid lines in FIGURE 2, whereas the transverse stop member 39 is positioned so that it will engage the front walls 20 of each of the containers when the latter are positioned in their tilted position, as shown in dotted lines in said FIGURE 2.

As hereinbefore explained, the forward portion of each of the containers is weighted, thereby tending to shift the centre of gravity of each of the containers, when empty, forwardly of the geometric centre line 26. The weight of each of the weights and its location is chosen carefully so that with a container in its empty condition, the centre of gravity thereof lies forwardly of the rod, while in its loaded condition, that is combined with the weight of the record and envelope, the centre of gravity lies rearwardly of the rod. It will be appreciated, therefore, that, when empty, each of the containers will tend to gravitate to its tilted position, whereas when loaded with a record, it will tend to gravitate to its retracted position in which the bottom lies substantially horizontal, in which latter position the front walls 20 of the containers are aligned in the same plane.

The advantages of a holder constructed in accordance with the foregoing are apparent. Normally, most record containers of the rocking type must be manually moved between their retracted and tilted positions and, it is quite conceivable thatafter being loaded, one of the containers may be permitted t -remain in its tilted position, exposing the record it contains to possible damage. The holder of the present invention, however, avoids this likelihood as the containers will automatically return from their tilted position to their retracted position once they are loaded.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A holder for disc-type phonograph records comprising a supporting frame having a base and spaced vertical side walls, an elongated horizontal rod supported at each end by said walls, a series of elongated record containers having bottom and end walls supported in side by side relationship at a point below their centre of gravity on said rod for independent fore and aft rocking motion, a stop means on the frame engageable withsaid bottom walls for limiting the rocking motion of the containers between a substantially horizontal retracted position and a position tilted forwardly therefrom, said containers being positioned on said rod so that the centre of gravity of each of them when loaded with a record lies rearwardly of the rod, and a weight secured to each container forwardly of its connection with the rod positioning the centre of gravity of each container, when empty, forward- 4 ly of the rod, whereby each container will gravitate to its retracted position when loaded and to its tilted position when empty.

2. A holder as claimed in claim 1 wherein the containers have forward end walls normally extending in alignment with each other when said containers are ar ranged in their retracted position.

3. A holder as claimed in claim 1 wherein the stop means comprises a pair of elongated supporting members connected between the side walls on either side of the rod, each member having horizontal upper edges positioned so as to engage and support each container in both the retracted and tilted positions thereof.

References Cited CHANCELLOR E. HARRIS, Primary Examiner. 

